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Chapter 240 Harvest ()

Two thousand acres of sweet potatoes are grown on the farm.

Today, hundreds of people bent over and worked hard all day, digging out sweet potatoes from 2,000 acres of land. The harvested sweet potatoes are piled up one after another, like mountains.

An acre of land is said to be worth 14 to 15 dan, and some can be as high as 23 to 4 dan. Based on ten acres of land, the average yield is about twenty shi.

Such a bumper harvest makes people almost crazy with joy.

The princess ordered a banquet to be held to celebrate, but no one thought there was anything inappropriate.

Only Magistrate Cai had the courage to say: "Princess, we can just taste the sweet potatoes a little bit. Hundreds of people are eating freely, and they have to eat an acre of sweet potatoes. It's better to keep them all for seed crops!" In a year or two, it will be grown everywhere in Nanyang County, and you can eat whatever you want, even every day.”

Jiang Shaohua was always polite to the diligent Magistrate Cai. Hearing this, he smiled and said, "What Magistrate Cai said makes sense. Come, bring a basket of sweet potatoes to the kitchen. Everyone can have a taste tonight."

Magistrate Cai felt relieved when he saw that his opinion was adopted by the princess, and he hurriedly handed over his hand to express his gratitude.

Jiang Shaohua smiled kindly and said: "There are no outsiders, so there is no need to be so polite. Everyone has been busy all day and must be very tired. We all go back to have a rest and change into clean clothes before having dinner."

Magistrate Cai responded with a smile: "It's strange that I am not tired at all after working in the fields all day."

The sixty-year-old Chief Wen answered with a smile: "Isn't that true? I'm not tired even though I'm an old man."

Everyone laughed.

Isn't it? Such a bumper harvest is so exciting, how can I still feel tired?
The sweet potato feast in the evening was also an eye-opener for everyone.

Under Cui Du's guidance, the kitchen steamed, fried, and baked many sweet potato delicacies.

Chen Changshi ate the soft, sweet and glutinous sweet potatoes and praised them repeatedly: "Good! Good! Very good! These sweet potatoes are very soft after being steamed. Even an old man can eat them without any problem."

Feng Changshi was also full of praise: "What's even better is that this sweet potato is still sweet. People rarely eat sweets on weekdays, but this sweet potato is not only good for filling the stomach, but also delicious."

Compared to corn, the taste of sweet potatoes is obviously more popular.

However, corn also has advantages that sweet potatoes do not have.

"Corn is easy to store." Cui Du said with a smile: "If it is dried and stored in the grain store, it will not go bad for a year or two. Sweet potatoes are not good and can be stored for a month or two at most. Dig a cellar and store it for a while. . For long-term storage, it must be processed.”

Jiang Shaohua listened with rapt attention: "How to process it? Is it complicated to operate?"

"The method is not difficult, you can learn it once you learn it." Cui Du didn't mean to hide his secrets at all, and said eloquently: "The simplest method is to wash it, cut it into slices and dry it in the sun, which is similar to drying vegetables. It's okay. Grind the sweet potato into powder, and the sweet potato powder can be stored for a long time. It can be mixed with flour to make steamed buns and then made into vermicelli, which can be used for cooking or as a staple food. "

Everyone at the table listened with great interest.

Magistrate Cai took out a notebook and wrote down all the methods.

Chen Changshi saw this and felt quite pleased. I recall that on that day, the princess made an exception and promoted a master to be the county magistrate. Everyone did not dare to say much in public, but they talked a lot in private. There are also some not-so-pleasant ones, saying that the princess will regret it sooner or later if she is young and ignorant and hires people randomly.

Now look at how precise and sharp the princess' vision is.

Magistrate Cai, who was born as a master, was diligent and diligent in his work, which would put all the magistrates to shame.

……

In the next two days, the farm was still busy. The sweet potatoes have been harvested and must be weighed and counted into the grain storage. The sweet potato vines in the field also need to be cleaned up and disposed of. Cui Du asked someone to take care of these trivial matters. What he wants to do is to teach the people from the fourteen counties to grow new food.

How to select seeds and raise seedlings, how to cultivate and fertilize, how to weed and eliminate weeds and insect pests are all knowledge.

Jiang Shaohua had nothing to do and came to Cui Du's class every day.

Cui Du is busy in the fields every day. He is not used to and inconvenient to wear brocade robes and gowns. He wears gray linen and linen clothes. The originally fair face was tanned again. He didn't look a bit wealthy, and of course, he definitely didn't look like a young farm boy.

Just standing there casually, it seemed to be glowing.

Of course, this may also be due to the halo brought about by the bumper harvest of corn and sweet potatoes. In short, Jiang Shaohua is very pleased with Cui Du, no matter how he looks at him.

Chen Jinyu studied with the princess. She knew almost nothing about farming and could not help but turn around and asked in a low voice, "Princess, do you understand?"

Jiang Shaohua responded quietly: "To be honest, I don't really understand."

Chen Jinyu was secretly happy.

There are specialties in the arts, and there are also universities in farming. Those sent from the fourteen counties are all experienced farmers who have been farming for many years. Cui Du explained in detail and they could understand it. The princess and she, who had grown up in fine clothes and fine food, would naturally be confused.

However, the princess was happy to listen and treated it as passing time.

Cui Du talked for a long time, and then directed everyone to select seeds and cultivate seedlings.

Jiang Shaohua also followed suit for a while. His hands, which were extremely familiar with holding swords, guns and sticks, suddenly became clumsy for some reason.

Cui Du suppressed his laughter and came over to give some advice: "It's actually not difficult to choose a breed. Choose one that is big and plump. Don't use the shriveled and small ones."

Jiang Shaohua nodded and patiently selected seeds under Cui Du's guidance.

Chen Jinyu looked at the unconscious intimate behavior between the princess and Cui Du. She wanted to say something, but silently endured it.

"Princess," Qin Hu came quietly to report: "Magistrate Cai is going back to Li County. Come and bid farewell to the princess."

Jiang Shaohua nodded briefly, put down what he was doing, and walked out.

Magistrate Cai was waiting respectfully outside. When he saw the princess, he immediately stepped forward and saluted: "There is a letter from the county government. The matter of opening a medicinal field cannot be left alone. I must go back first."

Jiang Shaohua said warmly: "You are dedicated to your errands, but don't be too busy, so as not to exhaust yourself. Li County cannot live without you, and neither can I live without you."

Magistrate Cai was so moved that he cupped his hands and said, "I know how much the princess trusts me. I must be a good magistrate of Li County so that the people can live a life without worries about food and clothing. I also want everyone to live a life of peace and prosperity." Everyone knows that the princess did not choose the wrong person that day."

These words came from the bottom of my heart and were extremely sincere.

Jiang Shaohua also felt warm in his heart.

On that day, she promoted Cai County magistrate in an unusual way. In fact, she had the selfish intention of buying horse bones for a large sum of money, and also used this to beat the officials of the palace.

I never thought that this unintentional act would lead to today's situation. Magistrate Cai did far more than she expected. It is not an exaggeration to say that Magistrate Cai is the first magistrate in Nanyang County.

"You can return to Li County with peace of mind." Jiang Shaohua said with a smile: "When the people learn how to grow new grains, let them go back with the grains."

……